Cut Flower IPM Resource Development: Weed Management, and IPM for Cut Zinnias from Seed to Harvest

Project Leaders: J. Lamboy, NYS IPM Program, Geneva

K. Hall, CCE Erie County

R. McCoy, Lilies of the Field, West Falls

Cooperators: Leslie Weston, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University

Andrew Senesac, Suffolk County CCE

Type of Grant: Pheromones; biorationals; microbials; conventional pesticides

Project locations: Applied research project took place in Erie County; findings will apply to any cut flower field in the Northeast.

Abstract: We conducted an efficacy study at a commercial cut flower field comparing two organic herbicides with glyphosate. A diverse population of weeds was growing in the paths between rows of cut flower plugs set in holes in black plastic. Three weeks after treatment, all three products appeared equivalent in the ability to knock down the weeds; all appeared dead except clover. Re-growth took place eventually in the clove oil and pelargonic acid treated plots, and they were treated a second time, with a mixture of glyphosate and pelargonic acid herbicides. Cost will be a key feature in the decision whether to use these organic herbicides.